BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY August 18, 2019 2
Gerri Lamb immortalized during Castle Hill street co-naming
Former and current elected offi cials and community members join Councilman Ruben Diaz, Sr., and Gerri Lamb’s children,
Gerri, George, and Samantha, as they display a copy of the new street sign. Silvio Pacifi co
EMS ambulances collision shuts down Harlem River Drive for hours
BY ALEX MITCHELL
Two FDNY ambulances brutally
collided with one another in
the Mott Haven bringing traffi c to
a standstill and injuring four on
Saturday, August 10.
The EMS vehicles were both
responding to the same call for
a disorderly individual prior to
ramming head-to-head into one
another near the intersection of
Brook Avenue and East 142nd
Street just around 4 p.m.
The reported injuries were all
sustained by the EMS workers inside
the vehicles, they were taken
to nearby Lincoln Hospital for
treatment, FDNY reported.
Neither ambulance was carrying
a patient at the time of the
crash, according to New York’s
Bravest.
Upon the colliding, one of the
two ambulances was pushed backwards,
striking a light pole, alternate
side parking sign, a garbage
can and then a parked gray van before
landing sliding sideways onto
the sidewalk.
The other emergeny vehicle remained
upright, blocking the intersection
as a fl ood of responders
came to the aid of their colleagues,
working into the night to clean up
the messy scene.
The accident created congestion
throughout the area, even
backing up Manhattan’s Harlem
River Drive at East 150th Street for
over two hours that evening.
The major artery was reopened
around 7:30 p.m.
Later on that evening, as the
glass and car debris were being
swept off the Bronx street, the
overturned ambulance was rightsided
and then hoisted onto a fl atbed
truck.
The cause of the accident is under
investigation.
BY ALEX MITCHELL
The corner of Castle Hill and
Randall avenues was formally
immortalized for one of the
Bronx’s most active residents on
Sunday, August 3.
That intersection is now Gerri
Lamb Way, named for the decades
long community activist
and housing advocate that passed
away at age 73 on Tuesday, July
31, 2018.
Lamb moved to Castle Hill
from North Carolina in the
1960s, where she ran the Castle
Hill Tenants Association and
proceeded to work in the Bronx
community as a volunteer on behalf
of its residents, particularly
children, seniors and the poor,
through such venues as Pathways
for Youth and the Kips Bay
Boys and Girls Club.
For many years, Lamb served
as president of the North Bronx
Council of NYCHA Tenants, and
since its inception in 1991, she
chaired the Citywide Council of
Presidents, making her one of the
more powerful women in New
York’s public housing.
Lamb also served as Castle
Hill Resident Association president
for a score of years.
In 1983, she was able to bring
the fi rst ‘off-campus’ site of Touro
College to the Castle Hill Community,
and during the next four
years, more than 20 community
residents received their Associate’s
or Bachelor’s Degree. Lamb
was also the driving force behind
the ongoing renovation of Castle
Hill’s community center and the
Annual Castle Hill Community
Day Celebration.
She was also responsible for
the addition of a gym and bringing
in employment, education,
computer, literacy, and guidance
programs.
Her passion for helping people
later resulted in an appointment
to Community Board 9.
While on the board, Lamb
served on housing, zoning and
land use, youth and other committees
throughout her over 25-
year tenure.
One of Lamb’s fi nal acts for
her beloved community was
working as a legislative aide for
Councilman Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr.,
for whom she had also worked for
during his tenure in the Senate
offi ce.
Diaz celebrated the renaming
with Lamb’s three children,
George, Samantha, and Geri that
Sunday.
“Gerri Lamb was a community
leader, advocate, and outspoken
leader for senior citizens,
NYCHA residents, and the community
as a whole,” he said.
She was also the recipient
of many illustrious awards, including
the New York State Minorities
in Criminal Justice,
Inc.; 2012 I.S. 131 Parents Association
Award; 2007 New York
State Housing Authority Queens
Community Operations Women’s
History Month; 2007 Bronx
Christian Charismatic Prayer
Fellowship Award; 2010 Women
of Distinction Award; the Top 25
Bronx Most Infl uential Women.
FDNY memebers work to remove the two damanges vehicles. Photo by Edwin Soto
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